


Elysium

by credens_justitiam



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Fluff, Friendship/Love, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, nothing overtly romantic happens but know that they have Chemistry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/credens_justitiam/pseuds/credens_justitiam
Summary: There was always something that made Shuuichi feel regret for doing his duty: the begging, the tears, the cries of anguish and pain. In his many years of work, Shuuichi had seen it all... or so he thought. Because the one who stood before him was someone who had waltzed into his realm full of joy andlifethat Shuuichi couldn’t help but marvel.A Hades and Persephone AU for saiouma week on tumblr!
Relationships: Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 96





	Elysium

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for saiouma week on tumblr. I sort of combined the flowers and au prompts from days 5 and 7, to bring you this hades and persephone au. hope you enjoy!

Few living things were happy to see Shuuichi. Being visited by the god of death, after all, meant the end of one’s time in the living world. Though death was inescapable, some didn’t come quietly and fought against Shuuichi until the bitter end. Despite being cursed at, kicked, and scratched, though, Shuuichi always tried to make the transition between life and death as painless as possible. Most, however, came with less belligerence. Many had questions about their deaths, about the lives of their loved ones, and what was to come next. For those Shuuichi did his best to answer, but there were some questions he could never satisfy. But in the end, there was always acceptance. Once there were no words left to say, Shuuichi led the departed into his domain.

Life… was painful. Everyone meets a dead end in their life, a wall one can never overcome. Death was meant to be a release from that suffering. Everyone knew that, the god of death most of all. So that’s why, no matter what, Shuuichi opened his arms and his heart to accept the dead with sympathy. Comforting his charges was the least he could do.

Still, it was hard to be the one god nobody wanted to see. There was always something that made Shuuichi feel regret for doing his duty: the begging, the tears, the cries of anguish and pain. In his many years of work, Shuuichi had seen it all... or so he thought. Because the one who stood before him was someone who had waltzed into his realm full of joy and life that Shuuichi couldn’t help but marvel.

The god of spring was youthful-looking, even for an unaging immortal. Though he changed his appearance regularly to reflect the changing of the seasons, he always wore pure white robes that shone like moonlight against his dark hair. When he had first stepped into the underworld, he shocked Shuuichi by making flowers blossom at his feet. Nothing from the living world could ever thrive in the underworld, yet the young god before him made the impossible happen. They quickly withered once the god of spring had stepped away, unable to withstand the underworld’s toxins, but their roots had taken hold in Shuuichi’s mind nonetheless.

The god of spring spoke then with a smile. “I’m seeking the audience of the god of death. I’d ask if it was you, but I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so emo-looking, so it has to be you. So can we move somewhere else to chat?”

At the time, Shuuichi’s mind flew with questions. Questions he didn’t have the answer for. Why had the god of spring visited him? And within his own realm to boot. If there were official matters to tend to, then he could’ve waited for the annual summit to discuss them. It was still unlikely, though, that the god of spring would have any need to see the god of death. Their existences were contrary to one another—Shuuichi’s aura alone made nature in the overworld wither and die, hence his limited journeys outside of his realm. Shuuichi was sure he hadn’t killed anything he wasn’t supposed to, so he really couldn’t comprehend why the god of spring came each time.

Shuuichi never got visitors. The only ones who came into his realm were the souls of the departed, and they were permanent residents. Living beings did well to avoid the underworld lest they followed suit. Yet the god of spring greeted him with a smile each time he visited, despite Shuuichi’s repeated warnings of how unfitting (and frankly deadly) the underworld was to him. To Shuuichi’s chagrin, the god of spring had hardly any reason to keep coming, citing boredom or wanting to “cheer him up” each time, which entailed pulling pranks and chatting up a storm when Shuuichi was busiest.

Shuuichi never thought he would want visitors, but this one was a breath of fresh air. He never thought he’d enjoy the god of spring’s company, but he welcomed the lighthearted banter he offered. Over time they had many conversations together and they exchanged their names, something that Shuuichi had never done during his time as an immortal. Now Shuuichi approached the entrance to his realm, a cavern leading to the overworld. Here, Shuuichi’s powers were weakest. It was one of the few places where the sun’s natural light could enter his realm. There Ouma stood, lit by the sun’s rays, and spoke in a teasing voice. 

“Did you miss me, Saihara-chan?”

“Yes,” Shuuichi answered honestly. “It’s been a while since you last visited.”

Ouma made a ‘hmph’ sound. “It’s not my fault your realm is so crappy. All rotting bogs and no natural lighting. Your sense of interior design sucks.”

In the past, insults such as these would’ve bothered Shuuichi. Ouma always had something smart to say about the state of the underworld and those who resided there, Shuuichi included. A few times Ouma got so under Shuuichi’s skin that he lost his temper—those were the times where he took things too far and questioned whether Shuuichi was fit for his job. But Ouma eased up on the teasing (for the most part) and the two became friends. 

“I changed things since the last time you were here. You gave me this idea, actually.” Shuuichi smiled, knowing that his words would pique his interest. “It’s not so ‘gloom-and-doom’ as you say anymore, Ouma-kun.”

Ouma tilted his head. “Oh? Then let’s see it.”

Shuuichi beckoned him forwards. “Follow me.”

He ushered them towards a circular set of stairs. But before he reached the first step, Ouma suddenly ran and jumped onto the banister. “Race you!”

Shuuichi could only blink. “Huh?” 

But already Ouma was already sliding down the banister, laughing as he picked up speed. Without thinking Shuuichi followed suit. He quickly discovered that the smooth, polished obsidian that comprised the railings made a perfect slide to go down. 

“Whee!” Ouma squealed. Just ahead of Shuuichi, Ouma spiraled faster and faster down the stairs, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“Aaah!!! Uwaaaah!!!” Shuuichi screamed.

Shuuichi, on the other hand, was thoroughly regretting his actions. The speed and the curve he went at made it impossible to control his trajectory, but miraculously he didn’t fall off. At least, not until the very end, where he shot off the railing and nearly somersaulted onto the floor.

“Oopsie-daisy!” Ouma said, and Shuuichi was suddenly encased by a bunch of thick vines. They slowed his descent considerably, stretching to accommodate him, before springing back and propelling Shuuichi to his feet. 

“Aaaaah! Aaah!” He rocked unsteadily, trying to find his balance after being hurtled down a flight of stairs. Though he flailed his arms around, he didn’t have to, as more vines steadied him around the waist.

Still expecting to fall, Shuuichi squeaked out a final “eh?” But the floor never came, and he stood on his own two feet. He blinked and looked around, finding that the source of the vines that braced him were connected to Ouma’s hands.

“Pfft.” In front of him Ouma made a sound like air hissing out of a balloon. “Pff, haha, ahahaha!”

The vines that held Shuuichi aloft quickly disintegrated as Ouma doubled over in laughter. “You-you should hear yourself! You were all ‘gyaaaaaaah!’ and ‘uwaaearhaaagh!’ Aren’t there any slides in the underworld?”

Now that Shuuichi didn’t have to fear for his well-being, he grew indignant. “What kind of noises are those? And I don’t have any need for slides here!”

“Waah, you don’t have to yell at me!” Just as quickly as Ouma began laughing, he looked as if he was about to burst into tears. “I only tried to have some fun with you…”

Shuuichi shook his head as the waterworks began to flow. “I didn’t say it wasn’t fun, quit pretending to be upset.”

“I’m not pretending…” Ouma sniffled.

“No, I know you are. More importantly—” Shuuichi ignored the wounded look Ouma shot him— “I still have to show you that thing I mentioned. We can either stay here and argue about your theatrics or we can go take a look.”

Ouma sniffled again, though it sounded more disdainful than sad. He turned away from Shuuichi and spoke to a nearby stone statue. “Saihara-chan always strings me along with these ultimatums. Can you believe him?”

“I know, he’s the worst,” Shuuichi said dryly, then waved him over with a hand. “Come on, I know you’re curious.”

Ouma finally followed with a giggle. “Wow, Saihara-chan seems to know everything about me.”

Shuuichi led them down a short hallway, his boots clicking on the dark marble floor. From beside him, Ouma’s footsteps were much softer and faster as he skipped along in sandals. He hadn’t stopped to think about it before, but Shuuichi realized how much he missed hearing both of them walking down the hallways. Time flowed differently for immortals such as themselves, but Shuuichi knew that it had been a long time indeed since they were last able to spend time together. He suspected it was because his realm was just too poisonous for any living being; last time, Ouma seemed to be paler than usual, and the plants he conjured grew more slowly. His sickness would explain his longer absence. 

But Shuuichi was determined to not let the underworld’s nature keep them apart.

“Saihara-chan?” Ouma’s voice roused him from his thoughts. “I know you’re kinda boring, but if you were excited to show me the end of a hallway, then you’ve sunken to a new low. A place even lower than the underworld.”

“Huh? Oh—” Shuuichi blinked, realizing that he was just a few steps away from walking into a wall. “This isn’t it. I got distracted, sorry. It’s down those double doors.”

Shuuichi pointed to a place they already passed, several paces back. Said doors towered over them, dark mahogany wood wrought with black iron. Ouma headed over without waiting for Shuuichi and placed a hand on them. He pushed a door open and spoke in a flat voice, “I must be boring you if you’re getting lost in your thoughts.

Ouma continued to stand in the entrance of the doorway, not moving from his position as Shuuichi jogged over to catch up. “Of course not! You’re the least boring person I’ve ever met. I was just thinking, that’s all.”

Shuuichi finally caught up to him, peering over Ouma’s head. He still stood in the entryway, stiller than Shuuichi had ever seen him. “Ouma-kun? Do you like it?”

Beyond the two double doors was an atrium lined wall to wall with light stone. On the ceiling was colorful glass that let in some of the overworld’s light in, casting rainbows in prisms of all shapes and sizes down below. They landed on trees and plants fashioned out of glittering metal and scattered.

Ouma spoke in a voice so soft, it was nearly swallowed by the babble of a small stream as it cascaded down a small cliff. “What is this?”

“Well, hardly anything can survive in the underworld.” Shuuichi walked past him, crossing a bridge dotted with multicolored stones. “You have enough trouble sustaining yourself when you’re here. It hurts to see you get sick from visiting me.”

Ouma’s eyes darted towards him, looking conflicted. “Saihara-chan—”

Shuuichi shook his head. “No, you don’t have to hide it from me. We both know it’s the truth. Just as death is inevitable, you weren’t meant to live in the underworld.”

“So what? Did you bring me here to tell me that?” Ouma asked, though he sounded more lost than angry as his words implied. “You can’t come into the overworld for long either.”

“No, that’s not it. Don’t you see?” Shuuichi gestured towards the foliage, which glimmered in rich jeweled tones. He beckoned Ouma over towards a small pavilion, where there was a small table and a pair of chairs.

“I can’t grow anything here, but I can make something like a garden out of the precious metals. This place is close enough to the overworld for light to come down, so my powers are weaker here, but it doesn’t prevent me from summoning the metals I need to do this. Besides, since my powers are weaker, the air here is a bit purer than it is in other areas of my realm. I think you’ll find it easier to breathe here.”

Shuuichi continued to speak as he walked. Ouma followed him from a few paces behind, as silently as a leaf in the breeze.

“I would’ve never thought to do something like this myself. The fact that nothing can grow here will never change, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ever try to create something new.”

Finally Shuuichi reached the pavilion and turned to face Ouma with a smile. “You taught me that.”

Ouma stood in front of him, his robes lit by the light of the overworld sunlight. His lips were pressed firmly together, as if he was holding back words.

Shuuichi shifted uncomfortably. Never had Ouma been so quiet for so long—Shuuichi feared that he was upset. “Ouma-kun?”

Ouma’s expression was unreadable. “How long did it take you to make this?”

“How long?” Shuuichi parroted, confused, but he put a hand to his chin as he thought. “Well, time’s difficult to judge, but I’ve been working on this since before our last meeting. Progress had been slow at first, but I worked on it more and more since you left, since I, well…”

Shuuichi tugged at his collar a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed. In the stretch of time when Ouma didn’t visit him, he had felt rather restless. So he threw himself into his project, carving jewels into the same flowers that Ouma always summoned when he came, carving into the stone cliffs that would create the kinds of waterfalls that Ouma described in the overworld, and so forth. Whenever he had time between his other duties in the underworld, Shuuichi came to the atrium and worked until he couldn’t keep his eyes open. In other words… 

Ouma’s face split into a coy grin. “You must’ve really missed me, huh?”

Shuuichi felt warm under Ouma’s stare. “Y-Yeah…”

“This must’ve taken you a long time, and each moment you worked on this…” Ouma sidled up to him, catlike in his demeanor. “You were thinking of me, weren’t you?”

“So—So what if I was? I’m capable of managing my own domain, you know,” Shuuichi said hotly.

“But not managing your feelings for me,” Ouma sang. Shuuichi was about to stammer out a reply, flushing pink from all the teasing, but then Ouma did something they were never able to do before: he reached out and took Shuuichi’s hands in his. Around his wrists, small flowers began to grow in light purple hues.

“I’m flattered that you thought so much of me, Saihara-chan,” Ouma said softly. “Thank you.”

Ouma’s hands felt warm, like spring. Shuuichi smiled and grasped them tightly in his.

“You’re welcome.”

**Author's Note:**

> the first outline of this was originally going to be *a lot* more dramatic than how this turned out, but I'm trying to practice writing shorter pieces (because you may have seen that I tend to get,,, very wordy). there was gonna be a whole breakup/makeup scenario but I scrapped that in favor of just fluff. if you wanna hear more about the original idea then feel free to hit me up on my tumblr. wink
> 
> and who knows, maybe I'll expand upon this au in the future!


End file.
